Immortal Punishment
by ReiR
Summary: Anna Carter is an innocent young woman from the 1800's, whom was well known for her wealth. But soon, she is given a drug, by her most trusted friend and is now unable to die. Present day, she begins to open her heart, as strange events begin to occur...
1. Chapter 1

(**_Anna portrayed by Sophia Bush)_**

_12th October 1863_

Anna Carter followed Doctor Benton down the stairs to his study. She held onto the banister, fear of maybe falling through one of the old creaking steps. She wondered what it was, that the doctor wanted to show her.

Doctor Benton was an old, yet firm man. He wasn't like many elderly. He wasn't weak, he didn't sleep as much as others did - he had a young soul, which Anna admired him for. He also had a great personality, so he had many friends. Even rivals couldn't resist but like him.

Anna brushed a strand of her dark brown hair from her face. As they reached the landing, Anna scanned the familiar room - which was illuminated by a single candle - with her hazel eyes - a handsome desk and cabinet were on the right side of the room, along with a couple of bookshelves, full of many different books, with different scientific categories - biology, physics, etc. He had a laboratory on the left, which he used for different tests, to discover cures and properties of harming items.

"Over here," Doctor Benton directed her. He was patting a new addition to his room - a chair. It had leather straps on the handle bars - she guessed it was probably to tie the victim. Anna approached him. "Sit," he told her. Anna frowned.

"Pardon?" she asked. Did he just tell her to sit?

"Sit," he repeated. Anna did as she was told. Soon though, she was shocked to find that Benton was tying her to the seat.

"What the devil are you doing?!" she demanded, trying to pull her hands and legs free from the tight straps.

"Calm down, this won't take long…" He left the room. Anna looked around in panic. She knew screaming was pointless, for no one outside would hear, and the rest of the house was empty. Her mind raced, wondering what he would do to her. This wasn't like him at all! What happened? Had he gone mad? Anna breathed deeply, desperately trying to calm herself down.

Benton returned, with a flask held tight in his hand. There was something new about his face. He looked almost excited. Insanely excited. Anna stared at the flask - it made her feel awkward somehow. What was in it? A drug? Poison? No. She needed to pull positive thoughts in and negative thoughts out, but she just couldn't.

"Wh-What is that?" she asked, her voice quivering. She half-hoped that he wouldn't answer.

"Ah…" he grinned, holding the flask up to his face. "… This… this just might be… my salvation…" Anna gulped. She didn't like the way he was talking.

"Salvation?" she questioned.

"… Which is exactly why you are here…" He was pouring some of the flasks contents into a goblet. The liquid was blood red. Anna shuddered. "I need to test this…" murmured Benton, gazing at the liquid.

"So I am playing the laboratory rat?" Anna glared at him. He merely chuckled.

"No…" He shook his head, "No… you are my greatest friend Anna… you've done so much for me - before you, I was but a beggar, living on the streets, eating from garbage… but you've given me what I've always wanted… to help people. To save their lives… a laboratory so I could save my own… I want to grant you this gift…"

"I am not convinced…"

"This," he referred to the substance in the goblet, ignoring her, "This will save me. This shall make me immortal - "

"You're insane!" Anna felt fury bubble inside her, and fear fade. "You tied me here, so you could test a lie on me?! A fake!? You're unbelievable you are! Who put you up to this..!? It was Cownell wasn't it!?" Cownell was a man, who envied her and her mothers lives. Anna had everything: a beautiful, caring home, money, entertainment, and love. Cownell was the only person whom envied enough to do something stupid.

"Shh…" Anna was surprised to find that Benton was still calm. He approached her. She knew what he was going to do. He forced her head back, and poured the drink into her mouth. Anna spluttered and gulped the drink - it stung in her throat as it flowed down.

Benton released her, and set the goblet on the table. He began untying the ropes. Anna thought of knocking him out, but was suddenly too tired to. Once he let her go - if he was actually planning on letting her go - she'd tell the authorities. They'd teach him a lesson. A lesson he'd never forget. All Anna's admiration for Benton had gone, vanished. What he'd done was crazy, and Anna couldn't believe that he'd betrayed her.

Lucky for her, Benton had decided to let her go. She called for a carriage as soon as she was outside, instead of walking. All she wanted was to get home as soon as she could. She climbed into the carriage, wary. Whatever he'd put inside her was making her worry. She was feeling fine before.

"Goodness, Annaliese!" Sophia Carter rushed towards her, seeing that Anna stumbled as she walked. "What have you been doing?!" Anna stared at her mother.

"I have not been doing anything!"

"Well, of course not!" Sophia replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "A candle loses nothing but lighting another candle." She sighed. Anna didn't understand what it meant, but wasn't bothered to find out. She considered telling her about her little event with Benton. Maybe it was best not to. She sighed again, and made her way upstairs in silence.

Anna's eyes flickered open, as her maid was gently shaking her.

"Miss Carter, your mother orders you to wake up! It's almost time for the party!" Anna's eyes widened and she frowned.

"Party..?" she asked. Her maid merely nodded and walked out of the room. Anna noticed she'd already laid out a dress for her to wear. She sat up - she winced as her whole body felt sore. Nonetheless, Anna stood and began to prepare for the 'party'.

Anna climbed into the carriage, been careful not to get her gown trapped in the door. It was her mothers - it was ruby red, and had frills around the neck line, the wrists and the bottom of the dress. She wore a matching red hat and black heels.

Anna looked out of the window, remembering her earlier event. It wasn't exactly easy to forget. Over and over she thought about the drink he'd given her. She worried if it might be poison - she was feeling drowsy.

She almost jumped as the carriage jerked to a stop. They'd arrived. Anna hadn't wanted to attend, but if she didn't, hell knew what Sophia would do to her. Well… Happy 22nd Birthday Anna…

"He really must be mad," exclaimed Anna's older sister, Helen, after she'd told her about Benton. Anna nodded. Helen didn't live with her and her mother, since she was happily wed.

"Are you alright?" Helen asked, noticing Anna's pale complexion.

"Yes, yes I'm fine…" she replied with a reassuring smile. "I - I just need some fresh air."

"Oh," she nodded and stood aside for Anna to pass..

Anna breathed in as much air as she could. What was going on? Anna placed a hand on her forehead, just as footsteps were present behind her. She gulped, not daring to turn around. It must be a guest anyway - Anna gasped in shock, as a pain struck her back, paralysing her whole body. Her back and front was wet. She felt what it was, only to find the obvious - blood. Her hands shook violently, as she stared. Then her eyes cast down, to look at her own terrified reflection in a dagger. She waited for death to come, but it never came. The pain became stronger, and she still bled excessively, but death still didn't come. She didn't understand. Wasn't she meant to be dead by now?

She decided to be brave, and pulled the dagger out of her, wincing. Tears ran down her cheeks, as a thought crossed her mind: Benton's immortality drug…


	2. Chapter 2

_14 March 2006_

Anna pulled the trigger on the shotgun and salt exploded from it, causing the ghost to vanish into thin air. She breathed slowly, calmly, and waited for it to appear once more whilst guarding the victim - a young girl of about 16, Sarah Winham.

"There - there!" she shrieked, pointing simultaneously at the faint figure, finger trembling. Anna fired automatically. The only way to get rid of the ghost was to cremate it - she already knew which graveyard he was buried in, but she couldn't get there without somehow getting Sarah into the ghost's clutches. Instead, she withdrew her mobile with her free hand from her pocket, and dialled the number of one of her colleagues, Bobby Singer.

"Hello?" his voice answered as he picked up.

"Hi! Bobby, I need your help!" Anna fired again. "I need you to go to the Green Valley graveyard, and cremate Samuel Parton!" Bobby didn't hesitate and replied, "Right away!"

"Thanks." She hung up and stuffed the phone back into her pocket and resumed her fight with the ghost.

Finally, the ghost shrivelled into flames - just in the nick of time cause Anna was running out of ammunition. She lowered her shotgun, relieved. Sarah clambered up beside her, clutching her arm.

"I-Is it gone..?" Anna nodded.

"Yes. Oh, thank you Bobby Singer!"

Anna drove Sarah home from the library (where they'd been attacked) in her red Viper. Sarah almost instantly sprung out of the car when they reached her stop and sprinted home.

"You're welcome!!" Anna called to her. She rolled her eyes when the door slammed shut, and drove away. Anna dialled Bobby's number again as she drove.

"Hey, thanks Bobby," she greeted.

"It's not me you should be thanking."

"What?"

"I asked my friends if they'd do it, since they were already there -"

"Great…" Anna sighed. "Still, thanks." She hung up once more and sighed.

A week later - sipping her coffee, Anna scanned the newspaper for any other murder victims - it was her new case, and she needed to find the link between them. The paper showed that a few townsfolk were been killed, and all in the same way - a clean cut across their throats and a stab through the head. She knew that there was only one person who'd ever performed their crimes like that, and that was Tom Rine, but it wasn't him - he'd been cremated at his funeral.

She'd found four victims so far - including one that had been murdered just yesterday - Lucas Bolton. Aged 25, married, three children, and also became a friend of Anna's.

A sudden headache attacked her mind, and Anna thought that was enough. She drank the remaining drops of coffee and rested her head in her hands, massaging her temples.

"Excuse me Miss?" Anna looked up. There stood two men, one was taller than the other. Both possessed handsome and similar features - amazing smiles, deep and thoughtful eyes, and you could see their muscles through their suits.

"Yes?"

"FBI. I am Agent Scully, and this is Agent Scott," the taller one informed, both flashing their badge's.

"I'm Taylor, Taylor Cortez (it was the name she was using for this case so she was un-identifiable) - um, sit down," she offered. They sat, and ordered coffee's also. When they'd received theirs, it was Scott who spoke first, "Miss Cortez, we understand that Lucas Bolton was a friend of yours."

"Yeah, he was… but I didn't really know him that well since I came here like, 2, 3 days ago…"

"Any other way, did you notice anything strange about him at first? Or his actions?" Scully asked. Anna raised an eyebrow. That question was something she'd ask when she was investigating. And their outfit's… Anna almost laughed at the obvious - they were hunters, just like she was (they hunt the supernatural).

The guys could see she was trying to hide the smile on her face. They didn't react so they were used to it by now.

"No. He was just an ordinary guy, with an ordinary family, with an ordinary job, in other words - with an ordinary life. Nothing strange about him - "she leaned in. They copied. "But..." If Anna could guess their profession's, then she should let them guess hers. "… All those people are linked with Jeremy Stint… who's _dead_," she added 's and Scully's (if they were even their real names) eyes widened. Anna simply smiled, gathered her belongings and left, leaving the so-called FBI agents stunned.

"D'you think she's..?"

"Either that or…"

Anna lay forward on the bed of her motel, typing up the names of the dead on the laptop, hoping that she'd be able to Google the link between them all. First up was Heather Winfield.

"Stanford University Heather Co-… No. Catheri- Definitely not..!… Heather Winfield… Harvard College… here!" She bit her lip, hoping this was it - and it was. She scrolled down the page, reading the information about her. There didn't seem anything wrong about her - good grades, ambitious, kind-hearted. She scrolled up and clicked on the students link… Well surprise, surprise.

Kevin West, Lucas Bolton, Mary Solder and Heather Winfield, were all on that page. So was Jeremy Stint… and another Jeremy Stint. _2_ Jeremy Stint's? Anna frowned - there was a knock on the door. Her frown softened and she sighed. Rolling off the bed, Anna wondered who it was, and she opened the door.

"Oh, hello," she greeted Scott and Scully.

"Hey," they chorused. Anna stood aside to let them in.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?"

"No thank you," Scully replied before his partner could.

"Okay… Well, fire away."

"Fire away?" He frowned.

"Aren't you here to ask questions? About Lucas?"

"Um… no - we are here to ask _a_ question, but not about Lucas…"

"You're a hunter aren't you?"

"Well done!" Anna beamed and clapped. "You two are hunters also! Ask those questions to a hunter, believe me their going to think 'hunter' of you's - so what're your _real_ names?"

"I'm Dean Winchester, the adorable one -" He seemed to be relieved that the curiosity had lifted from him, "And he's my geeky brother Sam."

"Pleasure." She smiled at them both shortly before turning to the laptop. "Anyway, there were 2 Jeremy Stint's. Brothers. They were in the same class with a bunch of other students - which are our 4 victims - _and_ I want you guys to come with me, and interview her…" She pointed to a blonde girl on the page - Lisa Hartwright.

"Who're you?" Lisa frowned slightly. She looked surprised.

"Taylor Cortez, FBI. And these are my colleagues, Agent Scully and Agent Scott. We'd like a word with you, please?"

"Um- sure," she smiled politely and stood aside for them to enter. Anna couldn't help but smile at the marvellous housekeeping and decoration - everywhere, each surface, was so clean, Anna could see her reflection. Everything was in it's place. Portrait's were neatly placed above the fireplace, and frame's were on the fireplace. There were comfortable armchairs and sofa before it. The kitchen was every housewife's dream too.

"You keep well," Anna complimented. Lisa only smiled proudly and replied, "Thank you. Why don't you take a seat?" They accepted, and that's when the interrogation began. They asked many question's, all to do with the victim's, who she thinks might've done it, and Jeremy Stint. She seemed particularly shaken up by the subject, and reluctantly answered. "Jeremy… well… he was quite… _popular_ in college… but not in a good way." Her eyes flickered towards the window - Anna guessed that she was hiding something. Lisa refused to make eye contact - guilt.

"What happened? To Jeremy…" Sam questioned - his voice made her eyes meet them again.

"We had a study club every evening… once, Jeremy had to go home alone, since his brother - "

" - Jeremy - "

" - Yes, Jeremy… was too ill to come to college on that day… as he was walking, a few of my colleagues had then began picking on him - somehow it had become a fight… and then…" A sob had escaped Lisa.

"Go on…."

"He was dead…" Anna felt awkward, and she knew the others too, for they slightly stiffened.

"We're sorry…" Dean said, whilst Sam patted her hand comfortingly.

"Were you one of them? Or a witness?" This triggered Lisa's anger button - she began glaring at Anna, so fiercely.

"I _loved_ him," she snapped.

"_You're lying…"_ Anna looked up - behind Lisa, was a man - pale, sickingly, distorted face, tall… She knew who it was - Jeremy. Though of course, she was the only one who could see him. It was her gift - she had the ability to see the spirits of the dead. "_You're lying…_" he repeated. He was too obsessed with saying that than noticing that she could see him.

"You're lying," Anna told her - this had caught Jeremy's attention. He stared at Anna, incredulously.

"Y-You can see me…" Anna gave a quick, short smile as her response. Lisa looked shocked.

"How dare -!?"

"Quite, how dare I? A man had died, and you are hear, telling us, you had nothing to do with it, that you had _feelings _for him. But you _don't_. Your voice is trembling, and right now you're refusing to look me in the eye, because you know, that I know." Gaping, Lisa trembled. Evidently she hadn't expected something like this. She'd probably managed to lie to everyone else.

"G-Get out." The guys turned to look at Anna, who'd now stood to fulfil Lisa's request, and then exchanged glances. Anna strolled off casually to the door, followed by Sam and Dean.

"One of you, stay with her - the other, come with me." They frowned at her.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. Anna sighed.

"I mean that Jeremy's going to attack again - I need someone to give me time, and I need someone to help me with the cremating…" Her eyes wandered to stare behind the guys, to Jeremy Stint. He was different from when she'd seen him inside: he now looked menacing, mad. He was laughing. Anna shuddered.

"Taylor…?"

"Hmm?" Anna switched her gaze to Sam, whom had a worried expression on his face.

"Nothing - you were just… are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she reassured with a smile. "So - who's coming with..?"

"Tell me one thing," Dean began. He chose to help Anna with the cremating, and besides, he wouldn't let his brother drive his '_baby_', the Impala.

"Shoot," Anna replied. She was watching the trees blurring by, her head leaning against the window.

"Do I know you?" Anna turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow. There was something about his face that was familiar…

"Well, do I?"

"I'm thinking…" Dean waited patiently. He was as curious as she was. "Wait… no… or…"

"Hmm?"

Anna's eyes widened massively.

"What..?" Anna had once seen a toddler - 1 and a half years old. The toddler's name was Dean. She knew his father, John Winchester. Something disturbed her train of thought.

" - Ah!" Jeremy Stint! What was he doing here?! "Don't you dare…" she warned.

"Do what?" Dean asked.

"Not you."

"Huh? - " The car had gotten off the road and was now riding into the trees.

"Stop it! I SAID STOP IT!!"

"I'M TRYING!" Dean yelled angrily. She wasn't talking to him, but she couldn't let him know her secret.

She glared at the ghost, who was grinning wildly. "Your brother would be so disappointed if he knew what you've become…." she whispered, only for Jeremy to hear. His face had fallen - an ashamed look crossed his face and he disappeared. The car had stopped just in the nick of time - the car was parked a few inches from a tree. Anna couldn't get his depressed face off her mind. Both released relieved sighs.

Anna and Dean were back on track, driving as fast as they could. Dean had been dialling Sam's number, but so far, no luck.

"Damn it, Sammy!" he yelled after another failed attempt. He looked annoyed, and who could blame him? His brother was in danger, and he didn't know whether he was alright or not.

"How long?"

"Hm?"

"To the graveyard?"

"A few minutes," he answered gruffly. Anna sighed.

"Let me try?" Dean shot her a glance.

"He's not picking up."

"Let me try," she repeated. Dean ignored her. Anna rolled her eyes and rolled over to snatch his phone and called Sam's number.

"Hey - !"

"Hello?… Hey." Dean, understanding, slammed the wheel, causing the car to go out of control for a second.

"Dean!… Oh no, don't worry, everything's fine… your brother's just annoyed that you haven't picked up after his calls… okay - anyway, is everything fine?… Good - good. We'll call you later, yeah? Okay… see you." Anna shut Dean's phone and handed it to him.

"What'd he say..?"

"Everything's fine - no sign of Jeremy though… I've a bad feeling he's waiting for us…"

"Why d'you think?"

"Because we're the ones who're trying to vaporise him maybe?" she said in an, 'isn't-it obvious?' tone.

"Oh…"

"We're here…" she almost whispered. The car stopped. They jumped out - Anna felt an invisible force tighten around her throat, and another throwing her back against a tree. Alert, Dean ran to her, and quickly threw salt at her, weakening the force. Anna spluttered - stupid salt - and looked around, and finally spotted Jeremy.

"You go…" she whispered.

"What?!"

"Go. I'll be fine."

"We'll both go -"

" - I'll buy you time!" Dean gave her a worried look. "I'll be fine," she repeated and poured some salt into her hand, and nodded him off. He raced into the cemetery to find Jeremy's grave - leaving Anna to fight.

Anna stared right into his eyes, and thought of what to say - she didn't want to get hurt. Spirits liked to inflict serious damage on Anna, such as breaking her bones, ripping out an organ… But she'd still be alive. Any of those would've made anyone faint, or die. But it wouldn't happen to Anna.

"Okay, Jeremy, I know we've not started out as friends… _but_ you've no reason to kill anyone…"

"I have reasons." Anna spun around to face him - he looked a little better. He's face was slightly less distorted. When spirit's felt better, they also looked better - Anna guessed he felt better because now he was no longer alone.

"And what are they?" Anna asked, tilting her head slightly, but still cautious.

"They killed me."

"And you want to be just like them?" Jeremy was taken aback.

"Course not. I just wanted to show them how it feels, to die…"

"Well then, they don't feel it anymore." Anna couldn't help but glare at him - innocent lives lost, all for revenge. Stupid. As always. Suddenly the ghost twitched.

"You've lived for so long… why aren't you dead?" Anna frowned.

"Pardon?"

"146?"

"That is..?" Anna frowned harder, faking confusion and hiding fear. The ghost could sense it. He smiled wickedly.

"I know who you are…"

"Great, all supernatural creatures do," she smiled sarcastically.

"No. I know who _you_ are."

"Well then gladly no one can hear y -"

"Your mother asked to deliver a message." Anna laughed once. Her mother? She was long gone…

"When?"

"Just now."

"Just _now_?"

"A candle loses nothing but lighting another candle." At this, she felt numb. Almost completely.

"A candle loses nothing but lighting another candle?" Shock ran through her.

"Mm-hm."

"How?" By now, Anna had only noticed his face moulding back into his original looks - he looked more like an innocent puppy than a murderer. "How?!" Anna repeated, anger tinting her voice. He merely smirked. "Right, that's not funny…" She stared at his cocky smile. Realizing he wouldn't tell her, Anna buried her face in her salt-less hand momentarily.

"So what happened?" He looked puzzled. "On that night… your death?"

"I was walking." He now stood behind her, breathing on her neck - Anna was also the only one, thanks to her abilities, who could touch ghosts and vice versa the way the living could. "They approached me…"

"Lucas, Lisa, Heather, Kevin, Mary and Heather?"

"Yes, but not Lisa… They were drunk, sickly… I tried to walk away…" His hands were resting on Anna's waist.

"Go on," Anna urged, blanking out that fact.

"They raced after me quickly after that, and you know the rest…"

"Quite short uh?" He nodded, but still Anna could feel the negativity from him.

"What has Lisa got to do with it then?"

"She's the one who planned -"

"- You said they were drunk -"

"You think they would've finished me off easier, sober?"

"Ah… ahem…" Anna coughed as his hands had slowly started to go through her skin. This was a way a ghost could kill a human - put a hand through the chest and rip the heart out. "Stop it." She had to make him stop - she'd still live but if Dean saw, he and his brother would see her as an enemy. He still continued. "I said stop." Still… "I said -" A scream erupted from the ghost as he ignited. Anna stepped away from harm and watched him burn. At that moment Dean stepped out from the entrance and nodded, also with a quick smile. Anna sighed in relief, and walked to him, and hugged him. She could tell he didn't expect it - it took him just a bit longer to hug her back. It was strange… she'd only known him for about 2 days, and yet, she felt remarkably close to him already. But she always left before she got _too_ close... Or maybe it was to feel the warmth - she felt cold, about what Jeremy had said… it was her mother's quote. She'd always said it. But behind it all; what was that supposed to mean? She knew she didn't want to find out. She pulled back.

"So he's gone?"

"Should be." Anna smiled, and they both walked back to the car.

"Woah, Sammy!" Dean winked at his brother as he told them - reluctantly - about his night. He'd slept with Lisa. Lisa looked particularly happy, but only because she didn't know what Anna had done.

"Say your goodbye's," Anna told her.

"I'm sorry? Are you going?" She looked disappointed. Of course.

"Yes. And so are you." Dean frowned at her.

"I've called the cops." Lisa became pale. Sam did too, and also upset. Anna looked away to not add anymore to her guilt pile.

"Why..?" she asked, throat dry.

"I think you know." Anna held an unfathomable expression, and simply walked away. It was Dean who stepped up.

"You called the cops?!" Anna stood in her tracks. "Do you realize something? You don't what she did -"

"I know perfectly well what she did!" Anna had turned and was now making eye contact with Dean.

"What did she do?"

"Would you like me to start from the beginning?"

"Please do." Though he regretted it as soon as he'd said it.

"She sold drugs in college and secondary school, ordered murder on Jeremy Stint for _refusing_ to sleep with her, killed a poor old man whom she simply didn't like because he'd insulted her, and finally, became a prostitute. How the police never found her, I have no idea!" She did her homework - she was also done here. She walked out of the door and headed down the street. Half of her wanted to avoid them, since she knew she'd get too close, but the other hoped for the opposite.


	3. Chapter 3

_Tuesday 19__th__ June 2007_

It was a month since Anna's encounter with the Winchesters. Sometimes, she thought of them, and how they were doing. It wasn't exactly easy to forget them, since hunters came in and out of bars and talked about victorious and failed hunts. Most were of the guys. Anna left each bar after she'd heard their names, fed up.

Anna drove to Seattle, where there were sighting's of a pure-black-eyed man - Anna knew what he was, a demon. She rented a room from the nearest motel and had almost immediately fallen asleep.

In the morning, she rode around town, talking to the witnesses of the dark-eyed man. Most believed that she was a psychiatrist and had chased her out of their homes. Her day hadn't gone great, but now she knew how paranoid some people may be. After, Anna returned to the motel. She fidgeted through her bag for the key to the room. When she'd found it, her gaze turned right, and for a slight moment, Anna couldn't believe it - and she guessed Dean and Sam couldn't either. They arrived at the same motel, with the same case. Anna guessed she was the most upset with fate's choice. Their first time working together, hadn't resulted so well. Anna tried escaping into her room, but Dean had managed to get her to it - he stopped her. He pinned her against the wall.

"I've got a word to pick with you - you see… that, was the first time, I had managed to see Sammy smile properly, in weeks, and you, go ahead, and take it away from him," he told her in a harshly. He made eye contact, and at that moment, Anna felt like melting, just looking at them. He wouldn't look away, but it was different for her, because she _c_ouldn't. "What have you got to say for that?"

"Well what _have_ I got to say?" Anna replied. After what felt like an everlasting pause, she continued. "I've managed to make the world a better place by giving in a criminal - she would've hurt Sam far worse, sooner or later. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to _go_." Dean hesitated, but had eventually dropped an arm to let her pass. Sam had twitched out of the corner of her eye. She entered her room calmly. What she had said - about hurting Sam worse - Anna said it to believe it herself. The guilt spun in her, like so many other guilty things she'd performed in the past, but she'd always tried to fix it, maybe to take it away. But she got rid of a few. Then she went straight-away to packing. There was no point in staying - the brother's would solve the case.

The next morning, the guys were working. Their Impala wasn't visible in the parking lot. Anna threw her bag into the backseat and had retreated for some coffee. When she'd stepped out of the coffee store, she'd noticed a tall man, striding towards her. She kept her cool. What could this person do to her anyway? Thankfully, he'd only barged past her.

Climbing into her Viper, Anna had realized she felt worse, and she rested her head on the wheel. _Stupid_ she thought to herself. _Stupid_. She held her head up and moaned. She was staring at a woman, but her eyes were fierce, her fingernails were claws, and she crouched, like an animal ready to pounce. Werewolf. She was after her heart - literally. That's what werewolves fed on. Most people think that they resemble wolves, but look a little like humans too and ate meat. They were wrong. This was strange: first of all, it was daylight. Werewolves usually transformed at night. But there one was: staring at her. She wondered if this was the supposed 'black-eyed-man'… well, for one: this was a woman. And two: why would a man wear a dress?! Anna reached to the backseat for her bag, cautiously - not to alarm her. Her fingertips brushed against the cold metal of a gun. It had no silver bullets, but it was enough to drive it away - away from the people that had no idea what would happen to them if she let the creature through. Jumping out of her car, Anna shot at the werewolf, catching the attention of the unsuspecting crowd inside the coffee store. Lucky for her, the werewolf retreated to the forest just opposite the motel. Anna chased after it - she glimpsed back to the alarmed crowd of people, looking to where the shooting could have come from.

The forest was darker than she thought it would be. Thin sunlight beams cut through the trees to light the forest. Anna kept her senses sharp. She had to know when it was coming. She waited, steadily. Any moment now… any moment… NOW! Anna shot behind her - the beast shrieked in pain, and lunged at her. Anna didn't have any time to react - now the woman was on top of her, ripping open her chest for her heart. The pain made her mind almost numb. She held in her scream (Anna didn't do screaming). She put aside her pain and kicked at the werewolf, sending it back, flying toward a tree. Just then, she heard voices - 2, male. Anna quickly played faint, remaining as motionless as she could. She could only tell what happened then - either Sam or Dean, went after the werewolf, and either Dean or Sam picked her up and was quickly bringing her to where help could be assigned. Anna could feel her warm blood, crawling down her neck. It was creepy, and difficult not to move for the wound stung. She welcomed new voices; worried, alarmed, shocked. _Time to bring in a little drama… _thought Anna. She couldn't keep up the fainting any longer anyway. She started with a loud gasp and eyes opened wide. It was followed by a series of coughs, and more gasps. Sam looked down at her, a horrified expression placed on his face. She breathed deeply and chokingly.

"Hold on, hold on," Sam repeated. She wouldn't die anyway. But if anyone found out about her… That would be bad. She continued her act. This caused Sam to speed up - he placed her in the backseat of the Impala, before climbing into the drivers seat. They drove off. Where were they going? She had to know.

"Wh-Where are we going..?" she croaked.

"Sh… we're going to the hospital…" Despite his horrified face and his actions, he had a slight edge in his voice. She didn't like this: not the edge in Sam's voice, but the hospital. She didn't mind going there if she fainted, or was in a coma, for it had nothing to do with blood. But if now, she went to the hospital, all bloody, the hospital would like to know what that extra substance (the immortality drink) is. This would probably arouse suspicion, but she had no choice - Anna pushed herself up, receiving many, "Anna, lay down"s, and opened the door, flying out instantly onto the road. The Impala screeched to a stop, but only too late. She'd fled into the woods. She needed to wait till night before she could sneak back to the motel.

Following the road from a distance, by nightfall, Anna reached the motel. The Impala wasn't there. They were hunting for the demon, or looking for her. Running to the back of the motel, Anna painfully climbed a tree, and from the branch, crawled over to her room window. She would clean the bloody trail tomorrow. Right now, she had to stitch up her wound.

Early next morning, Anna set out to what she noted to do. She followed her trail of blood, with a bucket of water and cloth. If she had to scrub it off, she would. Her path wasn't an easy one. Where her trail was in the forest, had sunk into the dirt. But still she didn't give up. There was a large spot of blood from when she escaped from the car. Scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing… Anna cut her fingers once or twice on the sharp stones on the road, but who cared?

Returning to the motel then, was a deep regret. The Impala was just pulling up the driveway. There was no point in running. Anna's stomach ached as they marched toward her, Sam most cautious. He seemed freaked by her earlier escape.

Running into the forest was pointless - they'd catch her as soon as she'd run 2 seconds. Time hadn't granted her the speed she deserved.

Dean looked furious, mixed with curiosity and confusion. Sam must've told him. Anxiety built up in Anna, but she held a calm appearance. How would she explain the escape? - more importantly, how she was still alive! Simple.

Dean and Sam towered over her.

"What was that?!" demanded Sam. Anna felt tempted to run.

"What was what?" she asked innocently.

"The whole… jumping out of the car thing?!" Playing dumb was never a good idea. She sighed and looked down and buried her face in her hands. All this needed was a little acting, and lies. She breathed deeply into her hands, pretending that she was trying _not_ to cry. She looked up again, and had managed to bring a few tears in her eyes.

"I - um… I was hoping you wouldn't find out about this…" A concerned look flashed across Sam's face.

"Find out about what..?" His voice had softened. They came a little closer.

"I'm…" she drew a deep breath. Funny how this was turning out… "I'm half-demon…" she lied, casting her eyes down to stare at the dirt. She dabbed her eyes with her sleeve. Sam and Dean felt awkward after storming towards her like that, and Sam - been the sweet one - wrapped his arms around her, hugging her. Anna hugged back and couldn't help but smile to herself. This was too easy. It always was. Thanks to a century's worth of acting practise…

Sam gave the most warmest hugs ever. Anna tightened the hug slightly before she pulled back, adding an extra sniff. There was a pause.

"So… how are you half-demon..?" Anna tried thinking of an answer.

"Because my mum was a demon, and my dad was human so…"

"Oh..!" Sam nodded to show he understood - who wouldn't? - and smiled slightly. Dean looked more threatening than before. His face was purple and his veins were faintly visible on his forehead. He stared, angrily at her. He was one of those people who would rather die than be friends with a supernatural being.

"Anyway… um, we've gotta run but - we'll see you around?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, sure," replied Anna and watched as they walked away, shortly following after.


	4. Chapter 4

Anna felt more depressed than she had in a long time. She hadn't expected to feel like this. She thought about the brothers but whenever she did, Dean's loathing look returned to haunt her. Why did she care anyway? They were just people. The lived, and died. Just like everyone else. Nothing different about them. Then why were they hogging her thoughts?! They only departed a short while ago though all she could think of was – were they okay? Where were they now? What were they doing? Searching for a hunt most likely. Should she tell them the truth? No. She never told anyone the truth.

Anna stormed from the motel, completely irritated by her thoughts. She needed to her mind and what better way than a breath of fresh air?

She hid a silver-bullet gun in her boot, just in case anything decided to attack her. Standing across the road from the forest, Anna shut her eyes and drew in a long breath, then breathed it out through her mouth. She repeated this. A new feeling overcame her. Like she wasn't alone. Anna opened her eyes, and froze. A pale child was staring at her with pale blue eyes. They were so x-ray like that it felt as if she was staring right through her. She felt like she was been burned on the spot.

The child looked no older than 10 – she had a gentle face; pale lips, perfect eyebrows, button nose... she was mumbling something Anna couldn't hear. Anna felt cold, and somewhat afraid. But why? The girl didn't seem harmful – yet. That was the last thing going through her head, before she was plunged into darkness...

Drip... drip... drip... water? Where was it coming from? Was it raining? Her eyes flickered open. She saw a bronze pipe. How did it get there? _No..._ How did _she _get here?! Anna sprung up, alarmed by her new surroundings – a copper-coloured, rusty, square room with piping on the ceiling.

"Calm down..." Anna turned to the voice. She breathed her relief. Why would she do that? She was looking at a serious-looking man, with dark hair, dark eyes and he wore a trench coat with a suit underneath.

"Oh, phew! It's you!" Wait – did she know him? Who was he? The man gave a curt nod. Anna moved to sit beside him.

"What a girl..." she wondered aloud. She must've been talking about the child. Anna now understood that she wasn't speaking or acting of her own accord – but she could still see, hear, and think as herself. The man nodded again in agreement.

"Who is she Castiel?" she asked.

"She's... a demon. But a more powerful sort -"

"A demon?"

"She has matching powers to Lucifer."

"Lucifer?"

"The De-"

"Say it and I'm going to have to hurt you," she warned. The common use of his name scared her. It was a word she used in the incident with Benton. Anything that reminded her of him hurt – the betrayal, the lies... all of it. A moment's silence passed, and Anna spoke up.

"So, we're here because of her?"

"Yes."

"How? I don't remember black smoke or been knocked out..."

"We were teleported... I don't know how. She's blocking my signal with my people... also, she's holding some sort of spell, so I can't teleport no one knows where we are..."

"Angels have signals?" Anna's eyebrows were raised.

"Yes."

"Oh..." Anna's eyes widened as she looked away. '_What the hell?' _she thought. "Okay... um... then why _us_?"

"I don't know."

"Great – let's all be stupid..." she mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" She bit her lip, hoping that he hadn't heard her.

The silence dragged on. Anna noticed herself examining the pipe above. What was so interesting about it? It wasn't like it was going to save them somehow... or would it? Anna couldn't tell what she was thinking.

The silence still remained. Castiel was either asleep or really deep in thought – his eyes were closed. But never mind that. Anna kept _her _eyes on the pipe.

She jumped to her feet. Had she noticed something she hadn't? She was scratching away the rust on the pipe. Tiny dashes were embossed into the metal. But those dashes weren't simply there, they were random. They spelt a name. _Her_ name. Anna could feel the smile on her face. Grasping the pipe, Anna pulled with all the strength she could muster. It wouldn't budge. The tighter she held on, the more the rust scratched, giving off a burning pain. Anna could hear herself cursing. Her hands bled lightly, but she still didn't give up. Eventually the pipe loosened a little but was too stubborn to break off.

Anna jumped as a pair of hands closed on her waist. It was only Castiel. Whatever her plan was, he was willing to help. Anna pulled on the pipe and Castiel on her, giving the pipe a little more force.

3 things happened then: the pipe broke off, water spewed from where the pipe was and Anna flew back onto Castiel, face to face. How that happened she had no idea and was sure that neither did he. Before, Anna hadn't realized how deep his eyes were, how dark. But she managed to roll off without showing her reluctance.

The room was already ankle-deep in hot-warm water.

_All of a sudden everything went black. Beeping and voices filled Anna's ears. The voices were alert and troubled. Anna couldn't understand what they were saying. The voices were too distant and mixed – though no voice was a voice she knew._

And just like that, Anna snapped back to the square room. She was attempting to pull something out of the pipe. It was small and metallic. Castiel was using his powers to evaporate some of the water. He wouldn't use his powers completely – something was stopping him. More blood squeezed from her fingers as she constantly tried to pull the object out.

"Got... it!" she mumbled to herself. It was a bronze key. A _bloody_ bronze key. Where did it go? Her eyes darted to every direction. No keyhole was visible. But then again, the room was coated in rust so the keyhole could be anywhere. She traced her fingers across each wall quickly, for the room was filling fast despite Castiel's powers. On the third wall, Anna's fingers bumped into a small curved hole. Not caring whether it was the keyhole or not, Anna slotted the key in and turned – they were out.

_Darkness again. The beeping returned and so did the voices. They were less alert. There were conversations but Anna still couldn't figure out what they were saying. She caught a few words – 'medication', 'tests', 'scan'... What was this? **Where** was this?_

They were sprinting down a pitch-black path. Her eyes couldn't adjust to the darkness. There were a few specks of light but none strong enough to light even a little bit of the path. It felt like forever as they ran in the dark, hand-in-hand, one afraid of losing the other. They hoped to emerge into the light soon – the dark was making them sick and claustrophobic. Anna slowed down, exhausted and Castiel with her. Deep down Anna felt it wasn't safe to stop, but they couldn't push themselves any further. They needed to rest.

_Beep..._

Anna frowned deeply. Had she heard..? "What was that?" She could hear distant beeping – steady and repetitive. Castiel's expression was unfathomable but Anna could tell he was confused.

_Beep..._

"What?" he asked.

_Beep..._

"That... c-can't you hear it?"

_Beep..._

"Hear what?" She expected that answer.

_Beep..._

The air suddenly became chilly, and hard to breathe.

_Beep..._

"Something's not right..." she concluded fearfully. Then Anna realized something. Something crucial – only one sound of breathing could be heard.

_Beep... beep..._

"Castiel?"

_Beep.... beep... beep...._

"Castiel?!" Suddenly her mouth was forced open as wide as it could, as something forced itself down her throat...

_Beep... beep... beep.... beep..._


	5. Chapter 5

Inside the hospital, the young lady woke up – air filled her lungs which caused her to have a coughing fit. Anna looked around her, squinting at the bright light around her. She was in a bed and was wired up to a machine. She was in a hospital.

A nurse soon came by to ask her questions, such as: name, age, family, etc. Then she proceeded to explaining what happened to Anna to have gotten her here: apparently, 4 days ago she fainted on a road near the motel she was staying in. The owner found her and called 911. She then returned Anna's clothes. She changed as soon as the nurse left the room.

4 days? Unconscious? That was a bit long for her. But that didn't matter. There was a dream – an important dream she felt – but she couldn't remember much of it. That was always quite frustrating. She could only remember the dark passage, the man in the trench coat and the ending. It didn't look too good. Deep down, Anna feared it could come true. It was possible. Thoughts clouding her mind, Anna hadn't realized that someone was trying to get her attention.

"Hello..? Hello? Miss?"

"Hm?" Anna snapped back to reality. It was a doctor.

"Miss..." He cracked a shy smile. "Um... we need to give you a check-up... to see if you're ready to go." Anna peaked at his name tag.

"Oh I've already had that David," Anna lied. The doctor nodded. There was something strange about them. He was different from everyone else in a way but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She tilted her head to the doctor who was now walking away. A couple of interns walked by and she caught a bit of their conversation.

"It's such a shame... David was such an awesome mentor..."

"How d'you think Karen's taking it? I mean, I know she said she hates him but that doesn't mean it was true..." They sighed.

"Well anyway, he's funeral is on Saturday... you coming?" Anna froze. Funeral? David? Distraught friend or lover?

"Oh, no..." Anna moaned and bit her lip. Shrugging her jacket on, Anna raced towards the direction she saw David walking off to.

Finding David was an extremely difficult task. Some ghosts tended to teleport with realizing it. And Anna found out that the hospital was 5 stories high. There were dozens and dozens of patients which he would've wanted to attend to, and his office was given to another doctor.

She searched for an hour or two before she gave up. She slumped down onto a chair at the reception and pinched the bridge of her nose with her index finger and thumb. She could feel a headache coming on.

"Haven't you gone home yet?" Anna sighed and half-chuckled.

"No." She looked down at the persons shoes. "I've been looking for a doctor for the last hour and I had no luck..."

"Well, maybe I can help?" Anna looked up. A smile grew on her face. David. She grinned and it quickly fell. She found him, she had to break the news.

"Meet me in the storeroom on the 1st floor in 10," she whispered. It was the only place they could talk without getting noticed.

10 minutes later, David walked into the storeroom. Anna was leaning on the wall. She acknowledged his presence.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello..." Now came the hard part.

"Um... David..." she began hesitantly. She looked at the floor for a moment, trying to think of the most careful way to say it. A great shock to a ghost would cause nearby electricity to either switch off, go haywire or sometimes both. And they were in a hospital... some peoples lives depended on machines. "Well..."

"Well...?" he urged her.

"I've got some bad news for you..." She looked up at him. He looked worried.

"Wh-What is it..?" he asked. Anna hated doing this. Seeing their upset, horror-stricken faces... it was partly her fault that some ghosts haunted and killed.

"Well?" he urged again, fear slowly showing in his ocean blue eyes.

"I..." She drew a deep breath. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this... um... this may sound... _crazy_... but... you're dead..." Anna was frightened by what his reaction would be. He remained motionless on the spot. Soon he laughed.

"That's funny..." he said. Despite his words, he believed her – he recalled all the times he'd been ignored, how many times someone stared at him blankly. "That's funny..." he repeated. His laughter stopped when he read her expression. The small light bulb above her began to flicker.

"Please, you need to calm down -"

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?!"

"If you don't want anyone to end up like you then listen to me!" At that moment the door of the storeroom opened. A confused and annoyed nurse stared at her, wondering why she was alone in the storeroom. Anna smiled nervously and pointed to the ear the nurse couldn't see and pretended as if she was talking on the phone. The nurse simply rolled her eyes and shut the door. David looked at her. The flickering had slowed down.

"Look, calm down... completely, and go."

"Why?" Anna explained to him about how the strong emotions of a ghost could affect electricity. He found it difficult to believe but did, nonetheless.

"B-But... my children..." His emotions were coming back. Outside, things were beginning to turn off and on.

"You're doing it again..."

"How can I affect electricity?!" he demanded.

"Ghosts are basically like energy," she explained hurriedly – she had to make him stop and fast. "They suck on positive energy and other sources such as solar, thermal, electrical, potential, etcetera. You depend on energy to at least... be visible to me..." Silence. David was considering her explanation. Whether it was true or false. Why would it be false?!

"That's ridiculous..."

"I know it _sounds_ like it is, but it really isn't." He only laughed. And laughed. He laughed till his laughter turned to sobbing. Lights flickered wildly until they turned off. Voices were heard, some worried, some cursing.

"Great... now look what you've done!" Anna turned to David. He was gone. She looked around. Definitely gone. Panicked voices began to rise. She walked out of the storeroom into a crowded ward – doctors and nurses were treating patients as best as they could. But it wasn't enough to save the life's that relied so much on the machines that now stopped working. Every second a stomach-turning noise was heard before it was silenced. Anna sped to the exit, unable to take it anymore. The wind hit her face and she breathed lots of it in. Fresh air. But it still wasn't enough to take away the smell of death that still hung around her nose.

The road was long and the night too. Anna didn't get many opportunities to hitch a decent ride, as the cars that passed by all contained drunk jerks - so most of the way she had to walk. The chilly breeze blew, just as rain began to pour.

"Oh... great!" moaned Anna. She seemed to be saying that a lot today. The rain was heavy and the freezing wind roared. Anna hugged her chest, trying to keep warm. She still had a long journey ahead of her. The weather was merciless - it grew colder, and colder, and colder. Anna was completely soaked. Her hair stuck to her face, her clothes to her body. Anna s irritation built up in her chest. From meeting the Winchesters, to the hospital deaths. Oh that idiot! She ll hunt David down. She ll make him pay for it! Depression joined her anger, Blood pounded in her ears. She already hated him - hated him as if she had for a very long time. Anna s thoughts had once again, disabled her attention - there was an engine a short distance away, but it was approaching fast. It slowed as it met up with her.

"Hey!" Anna rolled her eyes, ignoring the call. The voice was male._ Probably some drunky_ she thought and continued walking.

"Hey!!" the voice repeated more loudly. Once again, she ignored him. She d rather continue walking in the rain than drive with some drunkass. It wasn't like the rain would kill her anyway. The horn of the car roared twice through the rain. Anna rolled her eyes and turned. She squinted as her eyes met the light. To her surprise, it was the Impala. She guessed Dean was annoyed. He was patting the door constantly. Anna sighed.

"What do you want from me?!" she asked warily. The wind grew colder. She rubbed her arms

(pointlessly) to keep them warm.

"Get in!" It took her a moment to understand what he d just said.

"Sorry?!" She had to raise her voice. The rain was getting heavier. It was pounding on the roof of the car. Anna came closer.

"Get in!!" Dean repeated. "Now!!" Anna did as she was told and climbed into the back-seat. She was glad to be out of the cold. Sam gave her a small smile in the mirror which she returned. Dean glanced at her before returning his gaze to the road as he began to drive.

"Why were you walking all by yourself - in the rain?" Sam finally broke the awkward silence. Anna briefly explained the whole hospital incident - not mentioning David or the dream of course. They listened. Usually, Anna would cry over something like this, but she didn't anymore. Tears did nothing just hurt your face and make your throat hurt.

"Why were you at the hospital in the first place?"

"I fainted."

"What did you do? Drink holy water?" It was Dean. Her half-demon lie had the opposite effect it did on Sam. Sam seemed to be kinder to her - he pitied her. Dean now hated her. He obviously hated supernatural beings. Having one of them in his car insulted him.

"Oh yeah," she replied sarcastically. They glared at each other through the mirror before diverting their eyes. This was going to be a long ride.

Anna hummed quietly to herself. They were nearly there - she just had to wait a little bit more. Sam asked her loads of questions about herself to keep the silence from coming back.

"_What s your favourite food?"_

"_I like curry."_

"_Colour?" _

"_Black."_

"_What s the most weirdest hunt you've ever been on..?"_

"_Well, it has to be that time when I was chasing down a vampire - she was real soft and real bi," Sam chuckled. " But anyway, she attacked only females because it turned out she was actually a transsexual - it's just really confusing..!" _

It stopped raining. Anna sighed in relief as they reached the motel she was staying in. When the car had stopped she ran over to her car and hugged it.

"I'm never leaving you again!" she exclaimed. Walking in the rain had taught her to never take her car for granted again! "Oh, I love you baby, I love you! -"

"Ahem!" Anna turned to look at Sam. She stood up, a little embarrassed by her actions.

"Um, thanks," she said. Anna smiled sweetly at Sam.

"No problem... er - if you ever um... need us whenever something like this happens again then -" Sam withdrew a call-card from his coat pocket and handed it to her. " Call us." Anna smiled again and nodded. She looked down at the number.

"Thanks."

" Anyway, I gotta get back - we sorta found another case so..." Anna nodded showing she understood.

"See you," Anna said with one last smile. Sam returned it and waved goodbye as he walked back to the car. Anna breathed deeply and headed back to the motel.

Sam frowned at his brother who was watching Anna walk away with a strange look - it wasn t hate, or disgust... something different.

The next morning Anna woke up with a strong headache. Moaning, Anna washed and got dressed.

Dragging her ready packed suitcase to the car Anna thought if she should call the Winchesters. They - Sam really - had given her their number. Of course she d love to get to know them, but what would be the result? Would they become good friends? Would Dean eventually accept her? Oh she'd love it if he would! Would they find out about her if they got too close? No. If no one found out about her then, then no one would find out now. Winning her own fight, Anna reached into her pocket and dialled the number.

" Hello?"

"Hey?" Dean.

"It s Taylor." Dean groaned on the other line.

"What the hell do you want?" Anna glared at his rudeness.

"What's your problem?" she demanded, pissed. Dean rolled his eyes – as if she didn't know.

"You know."

"No I don't know but I'd really like to." Dean chewed on his lip, trying to calm himself. Sam looked at him strangely.

"Dude, who are you talking to?" Dean threw the phone to Sam, knowing he'd like to talk to her. Sam put the phone to his ear.

"This is Sam."

"Hi Sam." Anna smiled. Sam did too and took a seat on the bed.

"Hey Taylor, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, how about you?"

"Yeah."

"Good, good... what you doing now?"

"Talking to you. How about you?"

" Oh, I'm heading to Washington -"

"Why?"

"Business" she laughed. Sam smiled to himself. Dean pretended to gag in disgust. He's own brother and a demon... This was unbelievable. "Anyway, where are _you_?"

"Portland."

"Portland?" she asked. "Why?"

"Same reason you're going to Washington – business." Anna chuckled at the obvious answer.

"Crap! - Dean!"

"Sam? Sam is everything okay?" Anna frowned in worry.

"Take that you -" The line went dead.

"Sam? Sam?!" Something was wrong. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Anna diverted her route to Portland. The boys needed her, and they needed her now.


	6. Chapter 6

An hour later, Anna was in Portland. She would've gotten there sooner if she wasn't stopped by the police for speed-driving... idiots. Anna drove to the only motel in Portland which was: Portland Motel. She knew that' s where they stayed because the Impala was parked there.

"Hey, I'm looking for my cousins - one's tall with shaggy hair and the other one's short with spiky hair - they both have brown hair and brown eyes..." she asked at the reception.

"You mean Tom and Kyle Marsh?" Anna nodded, hoping that her instincts weren't going to let her down.

"Room 16."

"Thanks." Anna sped off to the room. In there, she would either find the brothers - tied up or whatever - or she'd find tons of clues that'd help her figure out where they were taken. Knock, knock.

"Hello?" she called after she didn't get an answer. She tried again. Still, nothing. The nothingness was getting to her fast. What happened to them?! Anxiety grew and grew till she just had to do something - and what she did she regretted, as soon as her foot made contact with the door.

The door broke down, and before her was a trashed room. Papers, furniture and clothes were all over the room in a heap. Blood was also one of the things that was all over it. But who' s blood? What if it was Sam's? Or Dean's? _'God! ANNA! Why do you care so much?!'_ she wondered to herself. Frustrated, Anna kicked a chair hard. Her foot went through it. But ah well - it wasn't like anymore damage could be done. Anna sighed and dropped onto the bed, resting her hands on her face.

"Well done Anna... well done..." The cocking of a gun startled Anna. She jumped from the bed and stood in fighting formation. But there was no one there but the ghost of an old man. He stared at her like he'd just been disturbed.

"You can see me..?"

"Can it grandpa..!" The man frowned at her disapprovingly. The ghost didn't have a gun so he couldn't have been the one. And it came from the bathroom. Anna held tight onto the silver knife tucked in her belt. Her other hand closed around the knob of the door. 1... 2... 3... Anna entered the bathroom - BANG! Anna ducked quickly, but not quick enough. The bullet caught her right shoulder. Anna grasped it and cursed beneath her breath.

"Hey!" Anna yelled and looked up. It was Dean who'd shot her, and Sam was standing just before her and was helping her up.

"Dean! Next time look who you're shooting!" Sam scolded furiously and lead Anna out of the bathroom. Dean rolled his eyes.

"What happened?" Anna asked with a concerned frown. She had acknowledged the large gash's on Sam's forehead and Dean's chest.

"Demon," Dean explained. " Oh - I'm gonna kill that son of a -"

"Demon?" Anna asked. "Why?"

"We don t know - now, let me look at your shoulder..." Sam sat Anna down on the bed and examined her shoulder. There was no need to, it wasn't going to cause much of a fatal injury she wanted to say. But she couldn't.

"Ooh, it looks pretty bad..." he said as his frown deepened.

"Honestly, it s fi- OUCH!" Sam was trying to dig out the bullet with a pair of tweezers. "SAM!"

"Sorry! Dean -" Dean came over.

"Yeah?"

"Hold Anna s hand -"

"What?" He glared at Sam.

"This is obviously going to hurt Anna so I need you to let her squeeze your hand."

"Sam, I don t need anyone to squeeze my ha - _ow_!" Anna winced and clutched her knee. Bullet removal was incredibly painful. She maintained her tough appearance by not crying, screaming or acting like a baby. Dean watched them. He admired Anna's tough image but still reminded himself that she wasn't human.

Sam was good at treating injuries and the bullet was out soon. Dean walked away to the bathroom to get some towels for Anna's wound. Sam dropped the bullet on the bedside table. Anna watched him do his work. Dean came back and threw the towels to Sam before closing the door. Sam ripped one of the bigger towels in half and began to bandage her arm. Anna winced whenever he touched her wound, and Sam would say sorry. After a while Dean got bored and went to the pub to get beer.

An hour or so later, Anna finished cleaning the room with Sam (though he insisted that she should rest instead). Sam admitted that it wasn't as good as before but it was okay. Dean still hadn't come back from the pub. Sam handed Anna a book from his bag to keep her entertained, since the T.V was broken. They relaxed on separate beds.

"_'Of Mice and Men'_?" Anna read aloud.

"Yeah – it's a _great_ book," Sam said as he opened his laptop to do some research.

"What's it about?" she asked, not really bothered to look at the blurb.

"You'll have to read it and find out."

"Meh..." Anna put the book on the bedside table and watched as Sam did his research. Watching him so focused on his work, Anna though that maybe most of the hunts relied on him to find out the information that they needed to defeat their opponent. He probably didn't get much relaxation. Anna sighed.

"I'm sorry Sam..." she began as she put the book down and lay down on the bed, leaning on her good side, still watching him.

"For what?" he asked in a confused tone.

"About Lisa..." Sam looked to Anna, taking in the sincerity in her eyes.

"Don't worry about it," he smiled lightly at her.

"But she was the only one that made you '_smile properly in weeks_'," she quoted Dean's words. Sam chuckled.

"That's what Dean said... but that's just cos he doesn't know me that much. I'm happy the way things are – you don't have to smile to show it." Anna smiled at his words. He was right. But she still didn't believe him – when she ran into them he looked upset and disappointed. She could confront him about it, or she could just change the subject. She chose the second option.

"What're you searching?" she asked frowning.

"A name..." Sam answered as he stared hard at the screen.

"Who's name..?"

"Annaliese Carter..." Anna burst into laughter. She laughed so hard she almost fell off the bed. Sam rose an eyebrow at her. What had the shot done to her..? Seeing the look on his face Anna stopped.

"Seriously..?" she asked. Sam nodded and turned his head back to the screen.

"I can't find her anywhere though," he told her.

When computers were invented, Anna destroyed all evidence of her existence – all the documents, all the pictures. Everything.

"Why?" She wanted to know why he was searching her name.

"The demon that attacked us wants her," Sam explained shortly. Anna raised her eyebrows as she knew what to say.

"Well tough luck for him, she's gone..."

"What?" Sam turned to her again.

"She was a poltergeist – I hunted her down, end of story."

"How could you know it was her – I mean, like I just said there's nothing here about her -"

"I have my sources," she interrupted before he could spill anymore. Sam turned to her.

"Was that why you laughed?" Anna nodded. _Liar_ she couldn't help but think to herself. Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Why would they want her then..?"

"Who knows..." Sam thought hard – why? Why would they want a long gone poltergeist...? A worried look crossed his face.

"What if they want you..?" Anna bit her lip.

"Why would they want me..?"

"Cos you're the one who got rid of her..." For an unknown reason Anna couldn't help but glare at Sam. Sam was surprised at this.

"What?" he asked. Anna just shrugged and turned on her side. Why would a demon want to find her? What did she do? She wanted to know. Somehow she knew it would be soon. Sam was right, they did want her. She was so focused on her thoughts, that she hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep.

"_Anna..." Anna looked around, trying to find the voice._

"_Hello?"_

"_Anna..." She browsed the round room, hoping to find it soon._

"_Hello!?" Her hand rested in her pocket. She breathed steadily. She needed to find this voice – it was important. Very important. She turned slowly on the spot._

"_ANNA!" A scream. A **male** scream. Her eyes widened. Suddenly she was so scared. There was no one who could help her. No one. Now she was alone. Alone with **something**. Her breathing quickened._

"_This isn't happening..." she whispered to herself. "This isn't happening..." There was a baby's rattle. It was still there even after a long time. This brought tears to Anna's eyes._

"_STOP IT!" she yelled at it. "STOP IT!!" She cried hard, and she still cried after trying so hard to stop. She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands. She couldn't breathe properly. She should have been looking after him. She should have been stronger. Now he was gone, and she was been tortured by it._

_Unable to take anymore of this, she pulled out the dagger from her pocket and slit her throat..._

Anna woke up in a hurry, clutching her throat. It was dark outside. She grabbed her phone on the table and looked at the time: 3am. She'd been sleeping for quite a long time. She looked around her – the brothers were asleep. Sam was in his bed and Dean slept on the sofa. Anna felt guilty – he must've been annoyed that she had taken his bed. She looked down at herself. She was in her shirt and underwear. Her eyes widened. Who undressed her?! She wondered, looking from Sam to Dean and vice versa._ 'Nevermind..'._ she thought to herself. It wasn't like she was going to stick around to find out.

Using the light from her phone, Anna found her jeans and coat and put them on. She put her phone down on the bed. Then taking one last look at the sleeping brothers, she made her way outside. A part of her desired to be with them, to stay, but she'd gotten so used to it in the past that she'd learned how to fight it. She found her car right where she'd left it; parked on the other side of the road. She jogged over there and climbed in. She sighed, taking one last look at the motel. Was she doing the right thing..? Yeah, she was. She wasn't about to let them or her get hurt. Breathing deeply Anna reached into the back for her bag where her keys were. Her fingers met something wet, and warm. She frowned. It couldn't have been water – she never bought water. It hadn't been raining, and there was no sign of a break-in so no one else could've put water there. She looked at her fingers. Blood. Anna's eyes widened and she looked over at the back – a limp body lay there. Dead, and bloody.

"Holy -" A hand slapped itself onto Anna's mouth. Someone was in the car with her who wasn't there before. Anna struggled to fight him off but it wasn't possible. He elbowed her head and Anna fell back onto the seat, unconscious.

"Wake up!" Anna opened her eyes. Light hit her eyes – Anna squinted.

"What the h -"

"Shut up and look at me." She obeyed. A man stood over her, his eyes harshly meeting hers. He wore jeans and a leather jacket. His hair was brushed back neatly. She sat up and scanned her surroundings. She was no longer in the cage, but on a sofa. Anna coughed and looked away, hoping she wasn't been rude. With each cough her head hurt more.

"Where am I?" she whispered, confused. She was in her car before.

"My apartment," he answered. His voice was rough and it didn't sound too happy. She gave him a _what the hell happened _look.

"My best friend is now in the clutches of some demon cos of you!" he roared. Anna winced loudly as her head throbbed alarmingly. She pressed on her temples and rubbed them, trying to reduce the pain.

"What? What demon?" she asked. She really didn't recall any of this. He had no reason to be angry at her. Whatever happened wasn't her fault. Glaring, the man grabbed Anna's arm and half-yelled, half-spat in her face, "Well you needed it didn't ya!? If you were more careful then we wouldn't be in this mess!! Be thankful we didn't leave ya to rot!" Anna looked away from him and sighed.

"Fine... thank you," she said – to shut him up - and he dropped her back on the sofa rudely. Anna watched as he walked away – to his bedroom she guessed – leaving her alone. Who did this guy think he was?! He was a hunter, that was all she could figure so far. But why was he shouting at her? What did she do? Why was she with a demon? She didn't understand.

She sighed. So she just had to stay here. Anna jumped up from the sofa and examined the room. A T.V stood on a coffee table opposite the sofa she had slept on, a bedside table stood beside the sofa, and there were lots of framed images on the walls and there was a big, red square rug on the floor. Stupidly, Anna fell back on the sofa again. It wasn't like she could do anything else. Anna's eyes cast to the window and she became stationary. She could see huge rocks in the distance, all in a mess. She approached the window tardily. She was nearly there. But even she couldn't be prepared for what her eyes had befallen... the city was gone. And in it's place was fire, dilapidation, ruin.

Dean fell off the couch as the song, _Mr Brightside_ by The Killers rang through the room. Sam sat up in bed and looked over to the direction of the tune. He picked up the phone and frowned at the caller ID: _Bobby_. He pressed the pick-up button and put the phone to his ear.

"_Taylor, you need to watch out,"_ the fatherly voice spoke with deep concern.

"Bobby?" Sam asked, his frown deepening. Dean stood up and stared at Sam, concentrating on his conversation. Bobby wrinkled his brow as he recognized the voice.

"_Sam?"_ he asked.

"Yeah – what's this about Taylor?" Sam asked quickly before Bobby could change the subject in any way.

"_Y'know her?"_ Bobby replied.

"Yeah, we met her a month ago and she's right..." Sam's eyes cast over to where Anna was sleeping – correction;_ wasn't_ sleeping. She'd left. Dean realized this at the same time as Sam and swore under his breath. Sam gulped. "... well, not here anymore."

"_You have to find her,"_ Bobby insisted urgently.

"Why? - "

"_Some demon is trying to chase her down for some Carter girl -"_

"Annaliese Carter?" Dean moved over to the window.

"_Yeah,"_ Bobby confirmed.

"Sam," Dean said, his eyes fixed through the window.

"One second Bobby - what?" he asked his older brother.

"Come here." Sam jumped from his bed and stood beside him.

"Look," he said. Sam did as he was told and he gulped. He was looking at Anna's car, and it looked empty. Seeing Anna's love for her car the other day they guessed she wouldn't leave it alone like that.

"Bobby?" Sam said, worrying about what he might say.

"_Yeah...?"_

"I think we've just found her car..."

The boys got dressed and sped outside to Anna's car. Sam pick-locked the lock and soon opened the door. The window on the other side was slightly cracked, and Anna's jacket was in the drivers seat, which was on the right. Sam immediately knew it's origin. _British cars are so strange..._ he thought to himself.

"Hey Sam," Dean called, staring through the back window. He was hoping that the body belonged to someone unconscious. "There's someone back here." Sam reached over to the back-seat and pulled a disgusted face as he saw the body's. The man's face was distorted and there was a symbol carved deep into his face and chest: a mirrored P, standing on a line, and underneath a circle with a diagonal line across it. Dean approached Sam and reacted the same way his younger brother did when his eyes fell upon the body.

"That's the Latin symbol for Pluto, and death..." he recited from memory as he stared unwillingly at the symbol to check. "And this circle one means... a good road, and a deceased female..." Sam gulped and looked up at Dean. Dean was worried by Sam's diagnosis, knowing that he couldn't be wrong.

"We gotta hurry," he said, and they raced to the Impala.

Anna put a hand over her mouth from the shock. This wasn't possible. How could the city have been destroyed overnight? It wasn't human, that was for sure. But _how_? She gradually recovered from her shock and opened the window. The air stank of burning and decay and death. Anna frowned in disbelief.

A heart-wrenching scream awoke her from her thoughts. She turned to the direction of the noise. The scream belonged to the man, and he was still screaming. Something was causing him pain. Anna wasn't sure but she could swear that he was telling her to... _run_? She stuck around, to define what he was really saying. He must've been saying something other than run. Maybe hun? Was he asking her for help? The screaming eventually died, and Anna remained immobilized, alone in silence. What was going to happen next? Her instincts insisted that she run as she assumed the man had asked but she couldn't do that to him... not after whatever she could've done to his partner. The door creaked open and that made her decision. She jumped out of the window – landing gingerly on her feet – and ran.


End file.
